“I wanted to tell you, thank you.” These few words, spoken in a quiet voice by my patient’s mother, stopped me in my tracks. I was busy writing out discharge instructions for her child, my mind focused on the task at hand, but these words broke my concentration. Turning to her I asked, “What do you mean?”
Turns out I’d seen her other daughter a few days before. This child, who is developmentally delayed, had been very uncooperative and the exam had not been an easy one. The mother told me, “You and your staff were so gentle and patient with her. I was going through a rough time and seeing how you treated my daughter made such a difference for me. It encouraged me to keep going.”
It’s amazing how a kind word can change a person’s whole perspective. This mother’s expression of gratitude changed my whole day. I’d been feeling rushed and stressed, complaining inside about all the little things which hadn’t gone right, but this mother’s simple words helped me refocus on what really matters and changed the whole trajectory of my day.
It’s so easy to look at the negative in this life, the small annoyances, the little detours every day holds. How much better to do what this mother did, to look for the good, and find ways to brighten someone else’s day with a kind word or a little compliment.
We each have a choice today. We can murmur and complain and make everyone around us miserable or we can look for the good in the world and the people we meet. Today let’s “encourage one another and build each other up…” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV). Who knows? Just a couple kind words could make a huge difference in another person’s outlook today. I know they sure helped mine.
God bless and have a wonderful day!